Nomura Holdings Inc. Makes New Investment in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 66,208 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $3,189,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dodge & Cox grew its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 13,498,634 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $650,094,000 after purchasing an additional 5,797,299 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,830,944 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $617,938,000 after buying an additional 571,720 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,245,884 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $300,395,000 after buying an additional 165,024 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,287,118 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $206,468,000 after buying an additional 211,657 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the fourth quarter worth about $176,123,000. 91.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In related news, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,903 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.99, for a total transaction of $98,936.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 41,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,147,083.02. This trade represents a 4.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.72, for a total value of $248,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 145,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,256,783.16. The trade was a 3.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,842 shares of company stock valued at $1,153,961 in the last three months. Company insiders own 4.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on GLPI shares. Wedbush set a $55.00 target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Monday, April 28th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $49.00 to $48.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $56.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Macquarie reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Friday, April 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gaming and Leisure Properties presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.63.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

Gaming and Leisure Properties stock opened at $46.89 on Friday. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $42.86 and a fifty-two week high of $52.60. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 11.35 and a current ratio of 11.35. The stock has a market cap of $12.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.34, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.81.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.96. The company had revenue of $395.24 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $396.27 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 51.65%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Gaming and Leisure Properties

Gaming & Leisure Properties, Inc engages in the provision of acquiring, financing, and owning real estate property to be leased to gaming operators in triple-net lease arrangements. The company was founded on February 13, 2013 and is headquartered in Wyomissing, PA.